No bond reduction for former teacher accused in child porn case

SYCAMORE – A DeKalb County judge declined to reduce the $1 million bond for a 45-year-old former St. Charles teacher accused of having and distributing child pornography.

Sycamore resident Jerome McCauley and his defense attorney Jack Donahue asked Presiding Judge Robbin Stuckert to reduce McCauley's bond to $150,000. His mother could have posted the $15,000 necessary for his release while the case is pending.

McCauley was charged Oct. 28 for allegedly having between 1,000 and 1,500 images and five to 10 videos of child pornography, some showing 12-year-old girls, according to court records. He previously worked as a seventh-grade teacher and volleyball coach at Wredling Middle School in St. Charles School District 303.

McCauley would have lived with his mother in Bloomington if the bond had been reduced, First Assistant State's Attorney Duke Harris said. But Harris argued that McCauley presented a flight risk because he doesn't have a job or own real estate in the community.

McCauley has no criminal history.

If convicted of the most serious charge he faces, McCauley would be sentenced to between six and 30 years in prison. Probation is not an option. His next court date is Dec. 5.